By DAVID MATTESON
It’s the three-letter word that seems to pop up everywhere. From billboards to school hallways “sex” is the cultural topic of controversy.
Everyone wants to talk about it, but few students truly understand it. It is a high-risk behavior that can lead to complications including sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.
There are 23 known types of STDs. However none of the students interviewed for this story were able to identify this number or name more than eight diseases. This is just a small scale example of a pandemic of ignorance when it comes to sexual activity.
Pregnancy is also an example of a life-altering consequence that may occur from sex. The United States has the highest teen pregnancy in the world with 750,000 teenage girls becoming pregnant each year.
One of the most controversial facets of sex is the subject of oral sex. In a survery of 240 students on campus, 57 percent felt that having oral sex does not mean that one is no longer a virgin. (For more results from the sex survey see page 14.) However, by having oral sex one is still at risk of catching STD’s.
Girl’s might face the decision on whether or not they should receive the Gardasil shot. This vaccine helps protect female from contracting human papollomavirus.
All of these issues are discussed in this special feature on teenage sex.
See also:
Teens become moms http://hilights.org/?p=298
Stop the disease http://hilights.org/?p=301
Teens Face Moral Controversy http://hilights.org/?p=304
Vaccine reduces cancer http://hilights.org/?p=317
He said, she said: Should teens be sexually active? http://hilights.org/?p=307